Low income pensioners could get £200 from council

Pensioners on lower incomes in a Cheshire borough are set to be given a £200 cash boost this winter if a council's plans are approved

The proposal by Cheshire West and Chester Council comes in the aftermath of the government's decision to scrap the universal winter fuel payment (WFP) of £200 or £300.

About 66,000 pensioners in the borough are set to miss out now WFP is only available to those on pension credit or other benefits, the council said.

Councillor Carol Gahan said the plan was that "before the end of the year" every eligible low income pensioner household in the borough who missed out on pension credit would receive a £200 payment.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer previously said means testing winter fuel payments could help reduce a £22bn "black hole" in the country's finances and the government would be putting "mitigations in place".

Ms Gahan said energy bills were "an understandable worry for pensioners who receive a low income".

She said the changes to the WFP allowance this year meant those above the pension credit threshold were "facing a cliff edge".

She said she was proud that the Labour administration of Cheshire West and Chester Council had "stepped up to bridge the gap and help low income pensioners".

The plans for the one-off payment are yet to be approved and will be discussed at a full council meeting on 17 October, with a final decision made on 22 October.

The council said the move would benefit about 3,000 households at a cost of around £600,000.

The local authority said it would use the household support fund allocation of £2.3m to help those who were struggling to afford household essentials, including energy and water bills and food.

Anyone who was eligible for the payment would be identified using a council tax reduction scheme and through housing benefits data records, it added.

Conservative councillors at Cheshire West and Chester Council tabled an opposing motion to the plans, calling on members to request that council leader, Louise Gittins writes to the Chancellor, urging a review of the decision.

The motion also called on Gittins to ask the government to ensure that vulnerable pensioners, particularly those not claiming pension credit, were "protected from fuel poverty".

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